The Final Post...For Now!

There are so many factors that play in to eating. One must consider health first, as acknowledged through my posts on obesity and the e coli outbreak. Thus, ingredients and resources were instrumental concerns throughout the writing of this blog. Websites like Epicurious are extremely informative in this way and I highly recommend it to anyone with the most basic to the most intricate of questions.

Some of the things that I wish I could have spent more time highlighting are not issues or concerns in cooking, but rather, the fun that you can have with it. If I continue this blog, I will inject my own family recipes along with some of my Latin fusion recipes. As I discussed in the Rachel Ray post, cooking has become an obligation in our culture because of its fast-paced nature. However, cooking is an art that deserves more attention and credit than that. It is a form of expression and a craft that takes much cultivation. I think the blog did a fantastic job of providing my viewers with a handful of resources to get started in their culinary experience. However, in my future posts, I would like to delve further into the cultural aspect that I began this blog with. It also would be nice to keep the blog up to date with special ideas for Holiday cooking. The most important thing that I would like to leave my viewers with is this: Don't be afraid to try new things from different cultures or even from a neighbor down the street. Try to have fun with you food and the company you share it with. Keep cooking!

Rachel Ray: Creativity in the Family Kitchen

Universities and institutions of many kinds throughout history have awarded outstanding individuals for their craft and talent. James O. Freedman, a Dartmouth University professor and author of the book Liberal Education and the Public Interest, believes that a college has full right to award honorary degrees as they address “…sacred matters and illuminate(s) the relevance of a liberal education to the lives of men and women." The University of Southern California, home of the famous Trojans, is no different. The University has presented honorary degrees to many well established professionals, including Neil A. Armstrong who is a USC alumnus and recognized as the first person ever to walk on the moon. The committee acknowledges people from all different fields like John Williams, who distinguished himself as the most influential contemporary American composer in both film and music of our time. The board ascertains a strict critique through the analysis of each prospective award recipient. It states that their award will,

honor individuals who have distinguished themselves through extraordinary achievements in scholarship, the professions, or other creative activities, whether or not they are widely known by the general public…honor alumni and other individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the welfare and development of USC or the communities of which they are a part…recognize exceptional acts of philanthropy to the university and/or on the national or world scene and elevate the university in the eyes of the world by honoring individuals who are widely known and highly regarded for achievements in their respective fields of endeavor.

In a world surrounded by luxurious gourmet recipes and five star restaurants, a taste of sensibility and practicality is much appreciated. Many families work year-round, seven days a week and come home having to cook for their loved ones. However, ingredients are expensive, and time is money. These families must constantly deal with an impossible balance. How does one support their family, financially and otherwise, and sustain daily household duties? Allow me to provide a scenario: A young mother returns home from an eight hour work day, tired and ready to relax. In this situation, cleaning and preparing dinner would most likely seem to be an unappealing obligation. These every-day people compose the audience that the Food Network caters to. Rachel Ray hosts a plethora of shows on the Food Network including, 30-Minute Meals, $40 a Day, Inside Dish, and Rachel Ray’s Tasty Travels. Rachel’s critics claim that her skills do not a real chef make. Rachel Ray’s shows are an outlet to obligatory every day life that simultaneously allow its audience to be productive. In accordance with the USC Honorary Degree criteria, Ray is definitely a widely known figure in both the entertainment and the culinary world. Ray also proves to be a creative genius as she relentlessly enters upon new career endeavors with book upon book, new and innovative television shows, and now her own magazine. In a society surrounded by the selfish, the boring, and the phony, Ray is a breath of fresh air with her original skills in the culinary and entertainment arts and a television charisma that exudes a genuine morale.

Mike W. Martin, an expert on ethics, wrote a very insightful book about ethics in the workplace called Meaningful Work: Rethinking Professional Ethics. In his work, Martin identifies three categories of motives that relate to the dynamic between the professional world and the general public. These motives were named craft motives, compensation motives, and moral concern. These criteria may act as another set of authority in the analysis of Ray’s career. Martin states in reference to craft motives, "the expertise is acquired through higher education and developed throughout a career. Craft motives are desires to achieve expertise and desires to manifest technical skills, theoretical understanding, and creativity."

Ray grew up around cooking as her family owned several restaurants throughout her life. Her parents both worked in the food industry which exposed her to the business as well as the art of cooking from a young age that carried into her career. Ray exclaims, "I was surrounded by all different styles of cooking, and worked in the food service industry in just about every capacity you can imagine." Not only was she raised in an atmosphere ideal to the progression of her trade, but Ray then broke off from her family’s businesses to begin her own individual food industry career. She began at a very minimal level by working at a candy counter at a New York Macy’s department store. Thus, she knows something about having an ambitious work ethic.

This determination to excel in her field relates to Martin’s compensation motive, “compensation motives are desires for social rewards, including money, power, authority, recognition, and job stability." Everyone needs money and material wealth to survive in our society. Ray is no different but supports this need with a well-earned skill and almost unreal drive to succeed. However, her compensation does not just come in the form of money. Rather, she feeds off the idea that she is being repaid with satisfied viewers who are able to more efficiently care for their families, enjoy themselves in the kitchen, and be entertained in the mean time. Many industries are flooded with the insincere and dishonest, but Ray truly cares about the well-being of people. This morale may have evolved from her understanding of the cultural sense of family and the elaborate meaning behind it: the people we love.

It is morality, Martin’s third element of critique that Ray displays through her work. Moral concern values fall into the two categories of caring motives and integrity motives. Martin claims that the two types both require, “relationships of trust, trustworthiness, confidentiality, and caring about clients, employers, colleagues, and the wider public. As a result, professions have inherent moral significance." Many cooking shows on broadcast feature top of the line equipment, intricate and complicated recipes, and expensive gourmet ingredients. These are all admirable and enviable entities. However, because Ray associates cooking with the home, she incorporates family values into her program. She acknowledges different likes and dislikes that are most commonly held by different members of the family. Ray recognizes that children do not like to eat foie gras (duck liver pate), and that contemporary parents do not have the time and energy to spend hours in a day cooking a single meal. Because Ray herself comes from such a family-oriented background, her viewers trust her judgment in the kitchen, as well as her overall morale. This is an important attribute when providing food advice for families nation-wide, especially with the current health scares concerning E boli and the rising statistics in obesity.

Ray upholds the values esteemed in both USC’s Code of Ethics and the University Mission statement. The USC Code of Ethics states, “We nurture an environment of mutual respect and tolerance…we treat everyone with respect and dignity.” Ray is proud to be of Italian descent and does in fact incorporate many of her Italian family recipes into her show. However, she also includes recipes from many different cultures in order to fulfill the desires of the American family. After all, the American family is no longer the 1950s Caucasian unit. Instead, it is composed of an intermixture that brings together many different backgrounds, and thus, is privy to many different foods. Rachel Ray has consistently proven throughout her career that she cares about the concerns of her viewers, and about familial health and happiness in general.

The University of Southern California supports individuals who uphold both its Code of Ethics and as well as it’s Mission as an institution of education and research. The USC Role and Mission Statement clearly emphasizes that they, “…strive constantly for excellence in teaching knowledge and skills to our students, while at the same time helping them to acquire wisdom and insight, love of truth and beauty, moral discernment, understanding of self, and respect and appreciation for others." Rachel incorporates foods that appeal to people of all walks of life, rather than limiting the target audience of the show to one group. Ray injects culture and flavor into her show, and developing such a unique trust with her viewers so as to encourage them to try new things in their culinary experiences. She never rejects a genre of food or ingredient; rather, she welcomes novelty into her recipes. Ray draws inspiration from differences rather than running in fear, or shunning the unknown. Her playful spirit and kind personality radiate through her television persona so as to maintain a relationship with her audience that is unlike the stiffness found in watching other cooking shows.

This affable nature is contagious across the screen and promotes the idea that the kitchen no longer has to be a place of obligation and daily responsibility to a household and family, but rather a playground for the imagination and creativity. In addition, Ray draws many of her recipes and ideas from her own life. This adds to the intimate dynamic between audience and artist, and also is a tool that is discussed in the USC Mission statement, “Our faculty are not simply teachers of the works of others, but active contributors to what is taught, thought and practiced throughout the world.” Ray utilizes her own inventive skills rather than simply teaching her audience an easier way to make already celebrated gourmet foods. She paves the way for a truly original method of cooking.

Ray’s critics claim that her shows do not demonstrate a true culinary craft worth adoration and emulation. They argue that she uses comical slang when referring to certain ingredients or culinary tools. She uses store bought ingredients rather than pricey and gourmet-ordered materials. She even refers to herself as the “Anti-Martha Stewart.” In response to her critics, Ray jokes, "I have no formal anything. I'm completely unqualified for any job I've ever had." But this humble quality is part of her charm.

What the critics don’t understand is that Ray’s audience is not interested in the pretentious world of the gourmet. When they get home from work, they want to laugh and to be entertained. If one wanted a simple recipe, it would be quite easy to look one up in a cookbook or to go online for the information. Ray’s bubbly and energetic personality is both likeable and fun to watch in action. Her inner glow radiates from her sense of humor and frequent references to family life. This persona allows her to reach her viewers in a way unique to that of other hosts. She provides recipes that are applicable to family situations, often giving advice specific to the challenge of feeding children and picky eaters. Ultimately, the majority of television viewers is consumed with work and is raising families. If Ray were to compose a speech for the award of an honorary degree from the University of Southern California, I imagine that she would be her own bubbly likable self in person as on screen. She would wear jeans and a tee-shirt, for this is what she wears on every episode of her show since it is not about top fashion. She would comfortably walk up to the podium and say that her show is for the viewers and that she is grateful for having had the opportunity to make her passion, her art, and her craft into a career that has supported her own family. She would say that she cares deeply for the family unit and that the show is for them and not for the gourmet chef.

Ray would say that she was one of them, that she is one of them.

Epicurious.com: For People Who Love to Eat

Food is an enormous part of life. It encapsulates multiple facets of living. People express themselves through cooking and make it into an act that can be artistic, therapeutic, cultural, and full of emotion. The final product of cooking is not just about the experience or the final result, but it also plays a big role in our society in relation to health and nutrition. It is no wonder that there are thousands upon thousands of websites to guide the populous through the world of fine cuisine and healthy eating. However, there was only one website recognized by the 2006 Webby Awards with two awards for the best overall website in Food & Beverage as well as the People’s Choice. This website was Epicurious.com and also took home the 2006 WebAward for Outsutstanding Achievement in Website Development. Epicurious imparts the following links to direct the viewer through all of the fantastic resources and information it can provide: Recipes, Features, Cooking, Drinking, Restaurants and Shop. These links are instrumental in the exceptional quality of Epicurious. The website is informative and interactive with its users as it provides a plethora of sumptuous recipes as well as discussion forums.

On the Home page of Epicurious, a viewer can subscribe to wonderful culinary magazines like Bon Appétit and Gourmet. Users can do a Recipe search, fill out an easy online lunch planner which includes a dinner planner as well as an imaginative program called “food for thought” that allows them to select the areas of cooking that they are interested in and then point out new ideas. One may also explore the top 50 restaurants, Holiday cooking ideas as well as top cookbook reviews which are searchable by topic of food e.g. African, Asian, Belgian, health-conscious, etc. Webstyle Guide claims that “Users are not impressed with complexity that seems gratuitous.” Epicurious’s homepage, although colorful and full of graphics, is easy to use because of the uncomplicated links that directly connect the user to whatever they may be searching for. Some websites are overly colorful and distract its viewers from the actual content but the Epicurious homepage is composed of a green and white layout that is vibrant and gives an all around fresh and fun impression. The Tabs are in all capitals and in bold, providing an obvious directory to the viewer. The Pew Internet and American Life Organization sites reports on demographics of internet users, “Sixty-eight percent of American adults, or about 137 million people, use the internet.” Thus, Epicurious is probably utilized by a majority of adults over youth. Cooking is typically a responsibility taken on by adults who have enough money to have a kitchen. Epicurious is most likely used by more women than men as Pew also states that there are gender differences in Internet use, “Women are more likely to see the vast array of online information as a “glut” and to penetrate deeper into areas where they have the greatest interest.”

Pew affirms that men usually use the internet to more deeply research information regarding work or the news. Taking into account that Epicurious is not only catering to adult women, but also men, the website is not too feminine or too masculine. Websites that are mostly viewed by teenagers or youth, or websites that function as support groups or things of that nature will most likely appeal to ethos or emotion. Because Epicurious is supposed to be more of an information and resource forum, it appeals more to pathos and logos. In addition, the Internet is becoming available to more and more people. This means that a broader group of people are searching the internet. Epicurious does a good job of accommodating people of different cultures with its ethnic recipes and information.

There are many different cooking television shows that offer step by step visual directions through intricate recipes. Epicurious TV is a great tool and provided as a direct link under the Features tab. The show’s hosts, Michael Lomonaco and Tanya Steel rave about their series, “we discover some of the globe’s most delicious cuisines, meet over a dozen of America’s top chefs, and learn how to re-create these flavors at home.” Epicurious TV is not just a weekly cooking show, rather, it surveys the talents of a variety of chefs and delves into the wealth of knowledge that only an International culinary exchange could provide. Thus, this device is interactive as it acts as a portal to other forms of media globally.

Life is composed of different occasions and seasons. For each of these circumstances, there are appropriate foods and delicacies, just as there are appropriate clothing ensembles. A good recipe is hard to come by, especially when preparing a meal for a larger group of people. Allergies, likes, dislikes, and health factors have to be taken into consideration. Epicurious presents a solution to this problem with its advanced recipe searches where you can cross-reference different topics. For example, under the recipes tab, you can look for recipes that are healthy for the family, that include fish, and that exclude nuts. You can even get down to specifics in your search by selecting from an array of different health options like high fiber, low calorie, etc. There are also different links to find the recipes that are most commented on or the recipes that are the most popular so that the viewer can see which recipes were most enjoyed by other viewers. Epicurious also offers another advanced interactive device called Epi-To-Go, which will send recipes to a cellular phone. Not only is it easy and convenient to access all the culinary information needed from a computer, but now all you need is a cell-phone.

For the same reason that many watch cooking television shows, users will appreciate the Cooking tab that Epicurious offers. The helpful How-To Link includes Chef’s tips that give advisement on things like baking, cleanup, cutting fat and calories, etc. The website offers technique videos as well, which have real chefs show several cooking fundamentals for a hands-on culinary guidance. Probably the most fun of the links that Epicurious presents is the holiday cooking link. There are hundreds of different recipes from Christmas to Valentine’s Day to Kwanza and for every holiday imaginable in between. In addition, there is a sub-link for Healthy cooking, and another for “everyday meals” which gives recipes for quick and easy meals to prepare. It is very helpful to have a resource that not only shares how to prepare a quick and easy meal, but also one that shares how to prepare that meal in a health-conscience way. It is also fun to be able to incorporate seasonal ingredients into one’s cooking according to the time of year. The link “Home for the Harvest” provides information of this light so that one does not miss the prime seasons for anything from tomatoes, to pomegranates, to a specific brand of apples. The title of this link changes through the seasons to give information on which fruits and vegetables are in season at the time. One should not forget that part of the cooking experience is about one’s own self-enjoyment throughout the process and not just the final result of one’s efforts. Changing up one’s usual set of recipes by using different seasonal fruits and vegetables or cooking for a fun event or holiday are ways to be more creative and let loose in the kitchen. There are many creative recipes that include all of the in-season vegetables. The most interactive aspect of Epicurious is the “Kitchen Counsel Forum” link which enables web-goers to share their own favorite recipes and tips with fellow viewers. One of the most fun aspects of cooking is the ability to share recipes with one another and to discover new ways to cook something different. Accessing knowledge from world-famous chefs and experts is always helpful and enlightening, however, sometimes the best recipes are from peers and friends. Cooking is not just about fine dining and main courses. It is about the company that one share during the meals. The Food and Wine dictionaries are incredibly helpful with their expansive and guiding information on everything from pino wine to fragua. After all, it is always a proud moment for a person when talking with another person at the dinner table and they actually understand the entire culinary lingo. Also helpful to cooking-lingo fluency is being knowledgeable about etiquette. One of the sub-tabs under the Cooking Link is the “Reference” tab which provides tips on etiquette, as well as a handy guide for herbs and spices.

Besides the enjoyment of cooking itself and the company one shares their meals with, the culinary experience would be incomplete without the enhancing qualities of beverages. Food and Beverages go hand in hand. Many meals go great with certain wines, and some fruits bring out the unique tastes of a chardonnay. Epicurious provides The Drinking Tab which offers a lot of information about different brews and beers, wines, chardonnays, as well as recipes for nonalcoholic drinks. It also teaches the user how to make mixed cocktails, smoothies, and even home-made healthy juices.

Enjoying food, however, is not all about doing one’s own cooking. Going out to new restaurants is a big part of the complete culinary experience. It is often difficult to find a truly good restaurant. The Restaurants Tab indicates different restaurants throughout different cities and states that are rated by many users in order to show which are most celebrated, which are considered by other users to be average, and which are rated as down-right bad. We all have many favorite dishes from restaurants that we wish we could emulate. Epicurious enables one to search for one’s favorite restaurant, and then find the recipe.

Even if one does find the perfect recipe from their favorite restaurant, certain recipes call for certain special cooking utensils. It is difficult to visit so many different stores to buy the necessary culinary tools. Epicurious also functions as an online store for gourmet foods, cookbooks, gourmet travel, coffee and espresso, healthy cooking, kitchenware, prepared meals, baking, fresh fruits and meats, domino home shop, wine, and seasonal favorites.

Epicurious is a fantastic website. It is unique in that it proves to be interactive with its viewers rather than only a source of information. It allows a trading of information between viewers as well as creative and imaginative links. However, nothing is perfect. Epicurious could most certainly be improved. For instance, if there was a link for presentation. Part of the culinary experience is not just the food itself, or the process, but the expression in the final product. Especially for festive occasions, or celebrative gatherings, many people love to be decorative and creative when presenting a meal that took a lot of time and effort to make. Ingredients are also very important, as the E coli scare is clearly enforcing. Epicurious could improve the helpfulness of the website by including a link that would inform the viewer as to how to choose different ingredients and how to test their freshness before including them in a meal. The Food and Wine dictionaries are wonderfully helpful, but they could be improved if they included information like which wines are best suited for which meals. For example, some wines are intended for desserts and some are intended for spicy entrees. Another perk would be if there were tips for where to purchase certain hard-to-find wines or cooking tools. Perhaps mentioning such places would help with advertisement and thus, provide more funding. The site is more focused on the commercial and the personal. It is not a very stiff website in the language, coloring, and graphics. The website caters to individuals, rather than one large pool of viewers. After all, there are links for people of many different cultures, cities, and capabilities. Thus, because the website offers information from fundamental cooking tips to creative new recipes for the more experienced chef, viewers of this site are probably of at least their twenties to their late sixties. The site’s purpose is to inform. Although the site teaches how to entertain, the site itself does not entertain.

At the end of the day, many people find it difficult to then commit themselves to creating a full meal. Thus, it is almost inevitable that one forgets that cooking can be fun, exciting, and enlightening. People forget that cooking is about the journey of the act itself, and that the experience can be a release rather than an obligatory duty. Epicurious is an outstanding tool to open the eyes of people in these situations. The website proves to be not only revealing and resourceful, but interactive and wealthy in creativity and imagination. Check out the Epicurious website for fun tips, informative references, and inventive recipes.

E coli Outbreak: Hold the Spinach Mis Amigos!

Food nourishes our bodies and our minds. For some, it nourishes the soul through thought, preparation, and serving. Because food is such an instrumental part of nutrition and health, an extra stress is placed on the ingredients used in meal preparation, and the manner in which it is prepared. Every day, restaurants are closed down or disciplined for improper sanitation, and every day people around the world get food poisoning or worse from poorly prepared meals. E coli, a bacterium that causes bloody diarrhea and sometimes fatal stomach aches, is considered to be a pertinent issue by the FDA(Food Distribution Administration). The facts of E coli are brutal. E coli can even cause kidney failure in some severe cases as it destroys the red blood cells. Most victims who experience diarrhea recover completely. However, others who suffer kidney problems can face lifelong health complications including seizures, blindness, high blood pressure and even paralysis. The effects of this can result in continual dialysis and the removal of part of the bowel.

There have recently been several outbreaks throughout the United States, mostly in the Midwest regions of Ohio, leaving a baby and a man dead and over 150 others treatably contaminated. The elderly and youth are at the greatest risk for infection because of a weaker immune system. Researchers found that the source of the outbreak was in bundles of fresh spinach. Initially, the source of the spinach was thought to be from California. However, according to the antiprotester blog, at closer look, Mexico seems to be the more suspect. Much of our spinach imports come from Mexico, a place infamous for poor sanitation and contaminated water and irrigation systems. The exact source of the bacterium has not been located as of yet, but experts (according to the newstalk blog) have narrowed the possibilities down to nine farms in California. Until the source can be positively identified, the FDA is advising that no one consume fresh spinach no matter where it is marked to be from.

Cooking a meal for one’s family is a sacred act for many. There is a process that is both intimate and full of care. Ingredients are where this process begins. It is always important to make sure that the ingredients are fresh, but also that you cautiously wash all vegetables and fruits that go into a dish. Occasional food bacterium-infestations are nearly impossible to avoid. But, part of enjoying a meal is that meal’s contribution to one’s health. For now, as we all try to get away from the E coli outbreak, try cooking dishes without the spinach. For example, instead of a spinach salad, make one with romaine lettuce. For something adventurous, make a fruit salad. Fruit is an important source of vitamin C and nutrients and can be spiced up with some tasty nuts and cheeses (a good source of protein and healthy fats). Until the outbreak is controlled, one should try to contemplate meal preparation with the recent E coli health scare in mind.

Critics of Fusion Cooking: Take Another Taste!

In religion, a certain set of actions are deemed appropriate and inappropriate by the interpretation of the Bible. In mathematics and science, only certain formulas will solve an equation. The results seem to be black and white for many, with little to no room for the gray. Likely, many chefs today question the validity of this so-called “fusion-cooking.” Certain food critics are claiming that this trendy cooking endeavor is nothing but a fluff fad that betrays the true temperament and essence of traditional recipes. Others, mainly fusion cooking supporters, proclaim that one may as well segregate America as we do cultural food groups. This purist food view is protested by many modern recipes and even by the media through the posh reality television show “The Iron Chef.”

What is it about fusion cooking that upsets people so? In order to create a fusion dish, one must consider tastes, allures, scents, and idealisms of a cultural food outside their own. Although fusion cooking is a trend at the moment, it has been around for a long time. In places like Miami, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, a lot of fusion cooking takes place because of the cultural demographics. One may not realize, but even a lot of the dishes that we consider to be traditional are in fact a result of fusion cooking. Any recipe, regardless of whether or not it is regarded as “fusion” is a result of different ingredients coming together. Look at something as simple as a sausage. We use this meat as a single ingredient within a much larger span of ingredients to make something as plain as pasta. However, inside a sausage, there is a whole lot going on—there are a ridiculous plethora of herbs and spices, a possible variety of different fruits or vegetables like celery or apples, as well as different fats and meats. All of these things go into one sausage because someone imagined it up. There is obviously something to be said about traditional food, and that recipe that has been kept in the family for years upon years, or Thanksgiving dinner. But who’s to say we aren’t allowed to spice things up with our own rendition of stuffing and gravy?

Fusion is not a new idea. Its results can be seen in music, art, relationships, books, makeup, you name it. The definition of “fuse-ion” is to become united or blended. Life is about things fusing or coming together. If we could try to let go of this purist view of simplicity and one-sidedness, more people could experience what some are calling just another cooking fad. Maybe if the critics tried grilled beef shortribs with sweet potato Trujillo tamales they wouldn’t be so hasty to dismiss the “fad”!

Overweight America: Leaner Mexican Cooking

With an alarming growth rate in overweight Americans and soaring numbers in people suffering from Diabetes, healthy lifestyle and food choices are becoming more and more necessary. In 2004, nearly 4 million Americans weighed over 300 pounds. In the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a reported 2/3 of adults in America are overweight with over 30% of them suffering from obesity. Obesity is highly underestimated in its fatality and not considered by most to be what it truly is—a disease. With multi-billion dollar fast-food empires, it’s no wonder that career-driven America so often opts for fast and cheap food-on-the-go. Unfortunately, the majority of these victims are of Mexican American and of Native American descent. Many traditional Mexican foods are deep-fried and saturated with fatty animal juices. Heavy meats, cheeses, sauces, and measurements of flour compile a majority of these recipes. It seems that there is no escaping weight-gain if one truly wants to enjoy authentic Mexican cuisine.

Luckily more and more restaurants are offering vegetable fajitas, imaginative Baja salads, and light sorbets and flans instead of fried Mexican appetizers and deserts.
Outside of the Latino community, health fanatics are attempting to even the playing field by creating new food-on-the-go services that provide a healthy, affordable, and convenient option. Vegin’ Out is one of these companies that offers a healthy menu with a plethora of options in a handy home delivery service.

Ingredients have a lot to do with the healthiness of the meal itself. For example, stewing your own beans is a much leaner way to go than buying canned beans. This does of course take more clean-up effort and time to stew the beans (but they’re tastier too!). If you incorporate more vegetables, and leaner meats it also makes a big difference. One of the great things about Mexican food is that many of the recipes involve ingredients from all the food groups. A healthy diet should include all the food groups, but not every way of preparing them (i.e. it is not necessary to fry as opposed to bake). Don't sacrifice food groups or the wonderful tastes of traditional Mexican food! Instead, choose healthier ingredients and be mindful of the manner in which you prepare your meals. Don't make yourself a part of the statistic.